Highlighted Year: Cal Koonce, 1962

Pitcher, Chicago Cubs

Age: 21

1^st season with Cubs

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 185 

Prior to 1962:

A North Carolina native, Koonce was an outstanding athlete while growing up in Hope Mills who then went on to Campbell Junior College (now University) where he played basketball in addition to baseball. As a sophomore in 1961 he was a Junior College All-American after producing a 10-4 record. Signed by the Cubs, he was assigned to the Wenatchee Chiefs of the Class B Northwest League where he compiled a 6-10 tally and 4.81 ERA with 46 walks and 74 strikeouts over 131 innings. Throwing harder than he had in the minors and featuring a good changeup, he made the most of his spring training outings to surprisingly make the jump to the pitching staff of the lowly Cubs in 1962.

1962 Season Summary

Appeared in 35 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 35

Games Started – 30 [19, tied with Ernie Broglio & Bob Gibson]

Complete Games – 3

Wins – 10

Losses – 10

PCT - .500

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1

Innings Pitched – 190.2

Hits – 200

Runs – 93

Earned Runs – 84

Home Runs – 17

Bases on Balls – 86 [10]

Strikeouts – 84

ERA – 3.97

Hit Batters – 7 [10, tied with four others]

Balks – 2 [3, tied with five others]

Wild Pitches – 2 

Midseason Snapshot: 7-2, ERA - 4.12, SO – 52 in 107 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 6 (in 7 IP) vs. Mil. Braves 7/7

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) vs. Cincinnati 7/13

 Batting

PA – 68, AB – 64, R – 7, H – 6, 2B – 1, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 1, SO – 25, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .094, GDP – 3, HBP – 0, SH – 3, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 49

Put Outs – 17

Assists – 29

Errors – 3

DP – 1

Pct. - .939

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The Cubs went 59-103 to finish in ninth place in the newly expanded NL, 42.5 games behind the pennant-winning San Francisco Giants. The pitching staff led the league in bases on balls issued (601), fewest complete games (29) and fewest shutouts (4, tied with the New York Mets) Continuing their experiment of utilizing a rotating group of coaches to guide the club, in lieu of a manager, the Cubs started poorly and stumbled through a chaotic season despite the presence of some young talent.

Aftermath of 1962:

Following a poor start in 1963, Koonce was demoted to Salt Lake City of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in June, where he regained his footing before being called back to the Cubs in August. He finished the season with a major league tally of 2-6 with a 4.58 ERA. Returned to Salt Lake City in 1964, Koonce posted an 11-15 record and 3.48 ERA with 157 strikeouts over 238 innings which earned him a late-season promotion to the Cubs where he was an impressive 3-0 with a 2.03 ERA. He spent all of 1965 with the Cubs, starting in 23 of his 38 appearances, and had a 7-9 tally and 3.69 ERA with 3 complete games and a shutout. Following a brief demotion to Class AAA Tacoma early in the 1966 season, Koonce returned to the rebuilding Cubs and was primarily utilized out of the bullpen. In 45 appearances his record was 5-5 with a 3.81 ERA, two saves, and 65 strikeouts over 108.2 innings. Another poor start in 1967 led to Koonce being dealt to the New York Mets where he was initially tried as a starter before taking up residence in the bullpen. He appeared in 45 games in all, 6 of them starts, and again ended up with a 5-5 tally along with a 3.75 ERA and 52 strikeouts over 96 innings. With the Mets developing a good, and deep, pitching staff, Koonce settled into his role as a reliever in 1968 and compiled a 6-4 mark in 55 appearances along with 11 saves, a 2.42 ERA, and 50 strikeouts over 96.2 innings. In 1969, the first season of division play in the major leagues, the Mets surged past the Cubs to win the NL East. Koonce started off poorly, as had become his pattern, but came on as the divisional race heated up and finished with a 6-3 record, 7 saves, and 4.99 ERA over the course of 40 appearances. Unused in the postseason which saw the club emerge with a World Series title, Koonce was sold to the Boston Red Sox following 13 appearances during the 1970 season. With Boston he appeared in 23 games (8 of them starts) and went 3-4 with 2 saves and a 3.54 ERA. He appeared in 13 games with the Red Sox in 1971 before being released, thus ending his playing career. For his major league career, Koonce appeared in 334 games, 90 of which he started, and posted a 47-49 record with 24 saves, a 3.78 ERA, 9 complete games, 3 shutouts, and 504 strikeouts over 971 innings. With the Cubs, his record was 29-32 with 4 saves, a 3.89 ERA, 6 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 326 strikeouts over 627 innings. Following his playing career he went into teaching and coaching at the high school level and coached the Campbell University baseball team from 1980-86 before becoming a minor league general manager and was also involved in community organizations. He died in 1993 at age 52.   

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.